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test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)
The Plumbline is a blog to
encourage the Body of Christ.
Acts # 9 The Church Growing and
Loving 2:41-47
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| "If I be lifted up, I'll draw all to me" - Jesus |
Acts 2:41–47 (NKJV) 41 Then those who gladly received his
word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to
them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43
Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through
the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all
things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and
divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate
their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God
and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily
those who were being saved.
Those who “accepted” (“welcomed,”
Phillips) Peter’s message (because they believed it, cf. TEV, CEV) then
testified to their faith by being baptized by immersion in water.
Again, Luke does not always specify details that are clear
elsewhere; he does not have the space to do it in this one book. Therefore,
though Luke does not mention it, we can be sure that all three thousand new
believers who were added to the Church received the promise of the Father as
Peter said they would and were filled with the Spirit, speaking in other
tongues as in Acts 2:4.
The mention of the
“three thousand” is significant. One of the themes in Acts is the spread of the
Word and the numerical increase of the believers (see the following verses).
· Acts 2:47
(NKJV) the Lord added to the church daily.
God “added” them. He was carrying out His purpose and plan
by the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostles and believers never tried to
carry out some program of their own devising. They followed step-by-step as the
Holy Spirit guided them.
At the beginning most of the
responsibility for the work of the Church fell upon the shoulders of the
apostles. They were the pastors, evangelists, teachers, and counselors for the
whole body. They were concerned for the well-being of all, not only spiritually
but physically and materially as well.
The Spirit had baptized the three thousand into the body of
Christ (see 1 Cor. 12:13). God never saves us to wander off by ourselves.
Consequently the three thousand new believers did not scatter but remained
together and “devoted themselves” continuously to the apostles’ “teaching and …
fellowship,” continuing together also in “the breaking of bread and … prayer.”
From this we see further evidence of their faith and their
being filled with the Spirit: Not only did they take a firm stand for Christ
with the apostles, they also had a persistent desire for instruction. Their
acceptance of Christ and the gift of the Spirit was more than a mystical
experience. It opened up to them a whole new understanding of God’s plan and
purpose. With joy they became hungry to learn more. This also shows that the
apostles had a body of teaching (which came to be included in the four
Gospels), and they were obeying Jesus and making disciples as He had commanded
(Matt. 28:19). It also shows that discipleship includes this kind of eager
desire to learn more of Jesus and of God’s Word. We can be sure the baptism in
the Holy Spirit made the Spirit their great Teacher as they listened intently
to their human teachers, the apostles. The Spirit made the truth real and
helped them apply it in their own lives. He increased their joy as well.
Fellowship was experienced in the process of teaching. It
was more than getting together. It was a partnership in the purposes of the
Church and a sharing in its message and work. As in 1 John 1:3, the Word, as
witnessed to by the teaching of the apostles, brought this fellowship, a
fellowship not only with the apostles but also “with the Father and with his
Son.”
The “breaking of bread” some writers take to mean only the
Lord’s Supper, but it also includes table fellowship. Believers could not
observe the Lord’s Supper in the temple, so this was done in their homes, at
first in connection with a meal (since Jesus instituted it at the close of the
Passover meal). Paul would later have to deal with the problems caused by the
way the Corinthian believers ate the meal and observed the Lord’s Supper, so we
do not observe it in connection with a meal today (see 1 Cor. 11:17–34; the
breaking of bread was intended to foster unity; instead, it was promoting
division).
As Spirit-filled believers they also devoted themselves to
prayer. Prayer was an integral part of their daily life. It kept them connected
with the Lord of the Church and was necessary to the work He had for them.[1]
[1]
Horton, Stanley M. (2001). Acts: A Logion
Press Commentary (82–84). Springfield, MO: Logion Press.
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